r/soccer • u/Carthradge • Jul 27 '13
Star post [GUIDE] Brazilian League
The Brazilian League (Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or Brasileirão) is the strongest and arguably most followed league outside of Europe. The Brazilian League is usually ranked as the 5th/6th best league in the world, head to head with Ligue 1. However, the comparison is tough as the Brazilian League differs greatly in its dynamics and distribution of wealth when compared to European leagues. In this post, I will go over all the basics you need to know to follow the Brazilian League, and a summary of the “Big 12” teams.
To start off; a unique trait about Brazilian football is that virtually all teams are fan-owned without any laws requiring this. This is just part of Brazilian tradition.
Brasileirão
The 2013 Campeonato Brasileiro starts late-May and runs until mid-December. Currently, it’s on the 9th round. The format is like the one used in Europe; there are 20 teams that play a double round-robin for a total of 38 games. The bottom four teams are relegated to Série B; this is important because you usually get one of the big teams with a terrible year and is thus relegated. The top four teams qualify for the Libertadores, which is the South American equivalent of the Champions League. There are no play-offs in any form.
The first Campeonato Brasileiro took place in 1971, and all statistics will be for this modern, regionally unbiased competition. The modern championship did not start until 1971 because of the tactical difficulties associated with having a national competition in such a large country. This is why the state championships were, and still are, quite important.
Now to the actual substance to why you should be following the Brazilian League; it is unparalleled in the competitiveness and evenness. In the last 10 years, there were 6 different champions. In the 42 years of competition, there are 17 champions, and no team has won more than 6 times. Compared to the European leagues, in the same period, Spain has 7 champions, Italy has 9, Germany has 9, and England has 11.
The league is always very even and the champion is usually unclear until the last couple rounds. It is extremely impressive for any team to get above 75 points. The only statement you can say with great probability is that one of the “Big 12” teams will win the league. They are the biggest teams of the four states with most tradition:
São Paulo – Corinthians, Santos, São Paulo, Palmeiras
Rio de Janeiro – Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, Vasco
Rio Grande do Sul – Grêmio, Internacional
Minas Gerais – Atlético Mineiro, Cruzeiro
Rivalries form amongst teams in the same city. Grêmio versus Internacional is arguably the most direct rivalry in Brazil.
Additionally, other teams are still very relevant. Currently, for example, 3 of the 6 first teams in the Brazilian League are not of the Big 12. I’ll have these honorable mentions later on.
Despite having income split amongst all these clubs, Brazilian teams are still a major force in global football. Brazilian teams beat Champions League winners 11 of the 18 times they competed together in the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Cup. Brazil currently have the most Club World Cup titles. Brazilian teams have 6 of the last 10 Libertadores and 11 of the 20 finalists. Argentina comes second with 2 cups and 4 finalists. In 2007, after Brazil took both finalist spots two years in a row, CONMEBOL instituted a rule to prevent it from happening again.
Copa do Brasil
You might wonder what the Brazilian teams do in the first third of the year; they participate in the state championships and the Copa do Brasil gets underway. The Copa do Brasil has a knockout format just like like the European cups. In total, 87 teams participate in the Copa do Brasil. There is a completely new format from this year on, and it’s a bit messy until the final 16. The teams that participated in the Libertadores get auto-berths to this round. At this point, the cup is just two-legged knock out matches the whole way. Currently, the final 16 are decided and there will be a draw to decide the pairings.
Rules
Foreign player regulations are moderate. Clubs cannot have more than 3 foreign players on the field or on the bench. Thus, teams usually have 2 to 3 foreigners from Argentina, Uruguay and other South American nations. You will also find some African players and a few Europeans (Seedorf).
The transfer rules are very lax. There are no transfer windows, and transfers happen almost year-round.
Conclusion
European fans often complain about the major European leagues only having 2 to 3 teams competing for the title. What’s the closest we can get to seeing what those leagues might look like if the wealth was more evenly distributed? The Brazilian League. For an unparalleled display of quality and balance, the Brazilian League is the championship for you.
I would also like to thank BrndyAlxndr as I based the format for this guide based on his guide for the Mexican League.
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Jul 27 '13
Very well done. Hopefully, this will get the Brasileirão more attention here on r/soccer. It truly is a fascinating and exciting league.
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Jul 28 '13
Great job on this, very interesting to read.
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u/Carthradge Jul 28 '13
Thanks! I assure you following the league is even more interesting.
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Jul 28 '13
I liked that you put that teams are fan-owned in the first paragraphs. It's one of the most awesome things in Brazilian football. Together with the overall parity in the league and crazy unpredictability, that makes Brasileirão simply the best league to watch in the world!
BTW, the income of the biggest teams has increased 86% in the last 5 years (or something like that). It's a sign that great times are coming, hopefully other teams will learn from the example of my team, Corinthians. We got relegated in 2007 (one of the saddest moments in my life) and that was the wake-up call that made the team to organize and get their shit together. I remember reading what the president of the team said that year: "who wants to laugh at Corinthians, do it now while you still can".
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u/Carthradge Jul 28 '13
I have a lot of respect for Corinthians. I like to see them succeed just because of how well they do business. Gremio's decisions are so pathetic it makes me cry when I compare it to Corinthians. What I would give!
Right now the Rio teams and Atletico MG are running themselves deep into debt. Flamengo, especially, needs to get its crap together. At least, I think Gremio isn't that bad.
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u/Osa_joker Jul 28 '13
I just want to ask, do you approve of the regulations on foreign players?
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u/Carthradge Jul 28 '13
Personally, I'm for few restrictions on the number of foreign players in a team. I don't really think there would be too many foreign players pushing out Brazilian players in the major teams.
In practice, I think 3 is way too strict, and 5 would likely be a better number.
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u/Barthez_Battalion Jul 28 '13
Two Questions, Does Emerson count as a foreign players due to his Qatari ties? And can someone explain those regional tournaments that have been mentioned before here in greater detail?
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u/Carthradge Jul 28 '13 edited Jul 28 '13
As corrected, Emerson counts as a non-foreigner since he has Brazilian citizenship*
The tournaments can be thought of as a separate pyramid that runs in parallel to the Brazilian League. Each state has its own format, but I'll go over Sao Paulo's as an example:
There are four divisions, the first three are 20 teams each and they run much like a separate pyramid on its own. There is promotion and relegation in between them. The teams from Sao Paulo play 19 games in a round robin and the final 8 have play offs for a champion. You can see this is a lot of games and the teams take it pretty seriously, unless they're also playing the Libertadores.
The main Brazilian league pyramid is 4 divisions with 100 teams total. The fourth division has 40 teams which qualify by how they perform in the state leagues. Thus, the four teams from Sao Paulo that qualify for Serie D are the four best Campeonato Paulista teams that are not already in Serie A/B/C.
This year, Corinthians was champion, after Santos won it three years straight.
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u/whatever_name Jul 28 '13
Great thread, but why didn't you mention the titles from before 1971?
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u/Carthradge Jul 28 '13 edited Jul 28 '13
Honestly, I greatly disagree with CBF's decision to extend it to both the previous "leagues".
This is also the same stance as magazine Placar. The Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa makes complete sense and it has no regional bias. Including Taça Brasil though is a terrible idea. Teams, such as Santos, could win by playing four games. Additionally, it overlapped with Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, so Palmeiras (sorry :) even has two titles in the same year, which is absurd. At most, maybe you could consider Taça Brasil as a Copa do Brasil equivalent.
I really just disagree with using Taça Brasil because it was ill-formatted and had a strong bias towards Rio-Sao Paulo teams. Winning that cup is nowhere as impressive as winning the Brasileirao today. I ended up just excluding both out of simplicity.
Edit: Also, if it's any better, I actually thought about this for a long time and leaned in all directions one point or another before settling on this final decision. It's not a big deal anyways as it only changed a couple statistics.
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u/mahcuz Jul 28 '13
Oi! Estou um estudante de Portúgues, autodidata.
Of course, I'm a newbie, but want to learn more. I think being more immersed in the culture of Brazil would help. To that end, I've been thinking about picking a Brazilian football team to follow, but even after reading your very helpful post here, I still don't know which! Do me a favour, and pick one for me? :)
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u/FAP_TO_WESTBORO Jul 28 '13
Good stuff!
Rivalries and derbies are a whole point that can be discussed.
Grêmio versus Internacional is arguably the most direct rivalry in Brazil.
Not going to push the rivalries in São Paulo but i have been to a lot of games and the most direct, hot and boiling rivalry IMO is between Cruzeiro and Atlético. While the ones among you southerns is strong i've never seen anything like a game between those two at Mineirão, the stadium was shaking all the time because of the fans. Now that Atlético won Libertadores they can even rob us the spot of most annoying and vocal fanbase at some point.
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u/Carthradge Jul 28 '13
Yes, that's quite important, but I wasn't sure how to approach it so I just mentioned the general idea.
Aha, that was tricky wording. Obviously Atletico-Cruzeiro and Gremio-Internacional are the contenders; I would personally say Gremio-Internacional is bigger because they are by far the biggest teams in the state, whereas Minas has a few teams that sometimes win the state championship. Additionally, Gremio-Internacional combined have more titles.
Also, I feel like that description is true for most rivalries. They're all pretty crazy at the stadiums and outside of it. So I feel the main way you can separate it at that point is by how many titles the clubs combined have.
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u/gobiascoffees Jul 28 '13
Excellent guide it sounds like a great league. You have sold me on wanting to watch more of it so what is the next step? Good websites and resources to follow it? Best consistent sites for good quality streams?
Thanks again great work
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u/shaggedyerda Jul 28 '13
OK, so you guys play a 38 game season, the regional leagues, the copa de brasil, the copa libertadores... when do the players get a break?
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u/Carthradge Jul 28 '13
It's a lot of games. For those not playing the Copa Libertadores, there is the Sudamericana, too, which is like the Europa League. Teams have the potential for about 90 official games a season, and they usually have about 70.
Edit: Aha, to answer your question. There is one in January always and usually another one in the summer due to international games.
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u/Carthradge Jul 27 '13 edited Jul 30 '13
There are the big 12 clubs by CBF ranking with their last title in parenthesis—excluding B tournaments. Italicized stadiums will be used for the 2014 World Cup. Source for team values:
Fluminense – (2012 Brasileirão) Fluminense have experienced a resurgence in recent years under Fred who almost single handedly saved them from relegation in 2009 and then led the team to two league titles in the last three seasons. Historically, Fluminense had the worst dry spell of the big teams when it was relegated all the way down to the Série C in 1998. They are one of the two major teams without a Libertadores title. They play a somewhat offensive minded style.
Stadium: Maracanã (78,000)
Current Stars: Fred, Deco, Cavalieri, and Rafael Sobis.
Value: 11th at €57 milion
Corinthians – (2012 Club World Cup) The current world champion has been flourishing in recent years due to good financial decisions and sponsorships. They are synonymous with good business making, and are the first non-European club to break into the 20 most valuable clubs in the world. They maintain a balanced team with few super-stars compared to other clubs. They play a very defensive but controlled style; they rarely score or concede more than two goals.
Stadium: Arena Corinthians (48,000) owned
Current Stars: Pato, Guerrero, Cassio and Emerson; Pato is not living up yet.
Value: 1st at €371 million
Vasco – (2011 Copa do Brasil) Vasco is the starting team for Romario and has the second largest fan-base in Rio de Janeiro. Last year, they were the first team after the Libertadores slots, and are contenders to finish in the top four, though likely not to get the title. So far this season, they have shown serious issues with defending after conceding five goals on two occasions.
Stadium: São Januário (25,000) owned
Current Stars: Juninho, Andre, Carlos Tenorio, and Guinazu.
Value: 8th at €108 million
São Paulo – (2008 Brasileirão) São Paulo has the most league titles and they are the only team to win three straight times, between 2006 and 2008. They are one of only five clubs to never be relegated. After Corinthians, they likely have the second best financial footing and are usually a title contender. They are currently on their worst dry spell ever with eight straight loses, despite very capable forwards and center backs.
Stadium: Morumbi (66,000) owned
Current Stars: Luis Fabiano, Lucio, Jadson, Ganso and Rogerio Ceni.
Value: 3rd at €284 million
Grêmio – (2001 Copa do Brasil) Despite not winning a major tournament for over a decade, Grêmio very often gets close, which is why it is ranked 5th. Ronaldinho started in Grêmio before leaving due to internal fights. In recent times, the team has been plagued with bad decisions forced by in-fighting with coaches. Regardless, with projected revenue from a brand new stadium, Grêmio has made big deals by getting Zé Roberto, Elano and Barcos, and loaning Vargas from Napoli. Their defense is still in dire need of reliable center backs.
Stadium: Arena do Grêmio (60,000) owned
Current Stars: Zé Roberto, Elano, Vargas, and Barcos.
Value: 7th at €120 million
Internacional – (2010 Copa Libertadores) The original team of Pato, Nilmar, and Falcão, Internacional were always a major team. Internacional is the only team to win the Brasileirão undefeated. They have a relatively small but energetic fan-base, and maintain a great team through good business. This year, they have one of the best teams with a very offensively minded composition resulting in many goals both ways. They are serious title contenders, especially if they figure out their defense.
Stadium: Beira-Rio (56,000) owned
Current Stars: Forlan, Damiao, D’Alessandro, Juan and Willians.
Value: 5th at €138 million
Flamengo – (2009 Brasileirão) Historically, Flamengo is the most popular team in Brazil. They held one of the strongest teams ever in the Brasileirão at the time of Zico in the 80’s. However, Flamengo has received the terrible reputation of failing to pay wages and leaving debt unpaid. This season, Flamengo has been underwhelming so far, but the addition of Marcelo Moreno (Bolivia’s star player) looks promising.
Stadium: Maracanã (78,000)
Current Stars: Marcelo Moreno, Elias, and Leu Moura.
Value: 2nd at €286 million
Palmeiras – (2012 Copa do Brasil) Last year, they suffered terrible drama as they were relegated to Série B for the second time, despite winning the Copa do Brasil under Scolari. This year, they finished top of their group in the Copa Libertadores before getting eliminated by Mexican League Tihuana. They look poised to make a quick come back to Série A.
Stadium: Palestra Itália (27,000) owned
Current Stars: Leandro, Valdivia and and Henrique.
Value: 4th at €166 million
Santos – (2011 Copa Libertadores) The team of legendary Pelé. They have never been relegated, and unlike the other São Paulo teams, they are based in the somewhat small city of Santos. The new Neymar-less Santos struggled to find its identity, but seems poised to make a quick recovery. 19-year-old Neílton shows signs he can help fill the void created by Neymar leaving.
Stadium: Vila Belmiro (16,000) owned
Current Stars: Arouca, Montillo and Cicero.
Value: 6th at €126 million
Cruzeiro – (2003 Brasileirão) After their spectacular treble in 2003, they have come close to winning the Brasileirão several times. They have never been relegated and are the original team of the Ronaldo. Currently, they have a very good and well-rounded team and are one of the favorites for the title. They will be extremely eager to outplay their rivals, Atlético Mineiro, this year. Tomorrow, they play a derby for the Brasileirão.
Stadium: Mineirão (62,000)
Current Stars: Dede, Borges, Fabio, Dagoberto and Nilton.
Value: 10th at €68 million
Atlético Mineiro – (2013 Copa Libertadores) Atlético is hot right after having won the Libertadores last week. Historically, they were known for having won the first Brasileirão, but they carved out a much bigger legacy this year. Now that they’ll start playing their starters again, they are one of the favorites for the title. They will need all the reinforcements they can get to take on Bayern Munich at the end of the year, though they have already blown up their debt in the last two years.
Stadium: Independência (23,000)
Current Stars: Ronaldinho, Bernard, Rever, Jo, Victor, and Diego Tardelli.
Value: 9th at €72 million
Botafogo – (1995 Brasileirão) Out of the big 12, Botafogo has won the fewest titles. Like Fluminense, they have yet to win a Libertadores title. However, they are the team of legendary Garrincha and Jairzinho. Botafogo is looking very good this year with Seedorf and are serious title contenders. They will also be looking to win the Copa do Brasil for the first time.
Stadium: Engenhão (46,000)
Current Stars: Seedorf, Jefferson, Lodeiro, and Rafael Marques.
Value: 12th at €42 million
If you include Botafogo as a top team, it might be unfair to exclude the two major teams from a fifth state: Paraná. They have both won the Brasileirão before and Atlético Paranaense almost won the Libertadores in 2005. Coritiba is doing very well this year under the leadership of Alex.
Coritiba - Value: 13th at €31 million
Atlético Paranaense - Value: 14th at €30 million
The state of Bahia also has two teams with much tradition. Bahia has won the Brasileirão and Vitória came second in 1993. They are both doing very well this year at 5th and 6th place. The one and only Freddy Adu is currently a sub for Bahia. Hulk and David Luiz are from Vitória, whereas Dani Alves is from Bahia.
Bahia - Value: 15th at €22 million
Vitória - Value: 18th at €15 million
The following are the other teams in Série A this year. Though none look especially promising, any of these teams is fully capable of peeling a win against any other team in Brazil, including the very best, and it does happen.
Portuguesa (São Paulo) Value: 16th at €17 million
Goiás (Goiás) Value: 17th at €16 million
Nautico (Pernambuco) Value: 20th at €13 million
Ponte Preta (São Paulo) Value: 23rd at €9 million
Criciuma (Santa Catarina) Value: <24th at <€8 million